Gifts for 10 year olds
Gifts for 10 Year Olds:Books They Actually FinishOrdered today, read this month.
Looking for gifts for 10 year olds that do not end up on a shelf? Each of these is a short illustrated book about one real problem a ten year old already has — anger, comparison, being left out, screens.
Short enough to finish. Not another gadget.
at 13 and 14
or digital
pages each
delivery
worldwide
Full book.
Not a sample.
Which 10 year old are you buying for?
The one who slams doors, then says sorry
A Volcano Inside Mefor a 10 year old with a temper
The one who cannot switch their brain off at night
The Hospital Secretfor an anxious 10 year old
The one who has gone quiet since something at school
Who Erased My Name?for a child who was left out
The one who measures themselves against a screen
A Dress Like Ella’sfor a 10 year old girl
The one who rips it up unless it is perfect
Sixty Cakes in the Binfor a perfectionist
The one who already has everything and wants more
Never Insult the Yellow Cheesefor the child who has everything
The one chasing the next new thing
The Empty Wish Chestfor a 9 or 10 year old
The one who says everything is boring
Who Will Save Me From Boredomfor a child who hates reading
The one who leaves it all to the last minute
Tomorrow’s Thieffor a 10 year old boy
The one who just got their first phone
The Trap in My Phonefor a first phone
The one who goes along with whatever the group does
School Secretsfor a 10 year old who follows the crowd
Choosing a gift
in about
two minutes
Name one thing about them
Quick temper, worries at night, glued to a screen, left out at school. One is usually obvious.
Match it to a story
Each book is built around one of those. If nothing fits, a bundle of three lets them choose.
Order in time
UK paperback within 2 weeks with free delivery. Digital arrives by email in minutes if you are late.
What the child actually unwraps
A gift that keeps going after the story ends — six things inside every copy.
What it looks like when they open it
Photographs of the actual pages — colour throughout, short chapters, nothing that looks like homework.
What you see here is what you pay for the gift. Delivery inside the UK is free and the parcel arrives within 2 weeks — no tax and no postage appear later at checkout. Buying from abroad, or leaving it late? The digital edition downloads in minutes anywhere in the world.
Give three, six or ten
A single book is a small gift. Three is a proper one — and the child picks which to open first, which is the safest choice when you are not sure what they are like.
3 books
$39.99
Save 22%
6 books
$69.99
Save 31%
All 10 books
$99.99
Save 41%
Buying just one? The paperback is $16.99 delivered free in the UK, and the digital edition is $4.99 anywhere in the world. Book one is $14.99 printed or $0.99 digital — a cheap way to test whether the series suits the child before spending more.
Is 10 the right age for this gift?
Written for 8–12, and read comfortably at 13 and 14 by children who find long novels heavy.
Buying a gift and not sure ten is right? Ten is the exact centre of the 8–12 range these were written for — old enough to read alone, young enough that the story still changes something. If the child is nine or eleven, the same books work; only the title you start with changes.
Gifts for 10 Year Old Boys
Ten year old boys are the hardest group to buy a book for, because most of what is marketed at them is either a franchise annual or a four hundred page fantasy. These are neither. Each one is 65 to 101 illustrated pages about something that has already happened to him — losing his temper over a game and regretting it, being left out of a group chat, going along with the crowd against his own judgement. A Volcano Inside Me and Tomorrow’s Thief are the two that land most often with boys this age.
Gifts for 10 Year Old Girls
At ten the comparison starts, and it usually starts on a screen. A Dress Like Ella’s is about exactly that — measuring yourself against people you will never meet — and Who Erased My Name? is about the week the friendship group quietly reorganised itself without you. Neither is a lecture and neither is pink. They are stories where the main character gets it wrong first.
Christmas Gifts for 10 Year Olds
Two things matter for a Christmas gift at this age: that it arrives, and that it does not get abandoned on Boxing Day. UK paperbacks are printed and delivered within two weeks with free delivery, so order by early December. If you have left it late, the digital edition is delivered by download within minutes anywhere in the world — you can buy it on the day. A bundle of three wraps as a set and still costs less than most single toys. Deadlines, last-minute saves and stocking ideas are all on the full christmas gifts for 10 year olds page.
A Gift for a 10 Year Old Who Does Not Like Reading
The honest reason most children this age say they hate reading is length. A book that cannot be finished is a book that becomes evidence they are bad at it. These are 65 to 101 pages, illustrated the whole way through, with short chapters, a puzzle and game section and an original song at the end. Children who have not finished a book in a year finish these — and finishing one is what changes the next one.
Gifts for 9 Year Olds and 11 Year Olds
The same ten stories work either side of ten. If you are buying gifts for 9 year olds, start with books for 9 year olds; for gifts for 11 year olds, the transition-to-secondary titles land hardest — see books for 11 year olds. Nothing has to be read in order, which matters when you are buying for two children in the same house.
Best Book Gifts for 10 Year Olds — Where to Start
Buy the problem, not the age. If it is temper: A Volcano Inside Me. If it is worry at bedtime: The Hospital Secret. If it is comparison and confidence: A Dress Like Ella’s. If it is homework left until Sunday night: Tomorrow’s Thief. If you do not know the child well enough to guess, a bundle of three lets them choose, and it is the safest gift in the range.
Buying for a different age? See books for 8 year olds, books for 9 year olds or books for 11 year olds, or the full children’s books for ages 8–12 range.
Kids Books is an independent publisher of the Lena series for children aged 8–12. Read about us and why we write these stories.
What people ask before buying this as a present
Will it arrive in time?
A UK paperback is printed to order and reaches you within 2 weeks, delivery free. For Christmas, order in the first week of December to be comfortable. If you have left it later than that, buy the digital edition — it is emailed within minutes and works on the day itself.
I do not know the child that well. What do I buy?
A bundle of three. They pick which one to open first, and you are not gambling on a single guess. If you do know one thing about them — short fuse, worries at bedtime, never off a screen — buy that story instead. It lands far harder than a general gift.
Is a book a boring present?
A four hundred page novel is. These are not: 65 to 101 pages, illustrated on every page, with puzzles, a game section and an original song at the back. Children open them the same day rather than shelving them.
Their parents are strict about screens and content. Is this safe?
Yes. No magic, no violence, no romance, nothing to age-check. If you want to see exactly what kind of lesson sits inside each one before you spend anything, the full breakdown is here: moral stories for kids ages 8–12. Every story is one ordinary situation — a fallout with a friend, a lost temper, a secret on a phone — and it ends well. Most parents thank the giver for it.
Can I send it straight to the child?
Yes. Enter their address at checkout and the parcel goes directly to them. Nothing in the packaging shows the price.
What if they already have one of the titles?
There are ten, and none of them has to be read in order, so a duplicate is unlikely and easy to avoid: pick a different problem from the grid above.
Is it for boys or girls?
Both. The main character is a girl, and the problems — temper, comparison, being left out, procrastination — are not gendered. A Volcano Inside Me and Tomorrow’s Thief are the two boys ask for most.
Can I buy it from outside the UK?
The digital edition, yes — it has no country restriction and is delivered by download anywhere. The printed paperback is delivered inside the United Kingdom only.
Do schools and teachers buy these as class gifts?
Yes. Class sets, year-group packs and whole-school packs are listed in the shop.
A gift that gets opened twice
Not sure it will land? Book one, Tomorrow’s Thief, is $0.99 as a digital download — the whole book, not a sample. Read it yourself in twenty minutes before you decide what to wrap.
Gift prices in full: $0.99 for book one digital, $4.99 for any other digital title, $14.99–$16.99 printed with free UK delivery inside 2 weeks, and $39.99 for a bundle of three. Nothing is added at checkout.
Kids Books publishes the Lena series for children aged 8–12. Questions before you buy? Contact us · Returns and refunds · Privacy policy